Tag Archives | Superheroes

The Moscow Times is reporting that Bulgarian pranksters are repainting Soviet-era monuments so that the Soviet military heroes depicted are recast as American Superheroes (h/t to trans-atlantykposting at reddit’s/r/worldnews):

Russia is demanding that Bulgaria try harder to prevent vandalism of Soviet monuments, after yet another monument to Soviet troops in Sofia was spray-painted, ITAR-Tass reported.

The Russian Embassy in Bulgaria has issued a note demanding that its former Soviet-era ally clean up the monument in Sofia’s Lozenets district, identify and punish those responsible, and take “exhaustive measures” to prevent similar attacks in the future, the news agency reported Monday.

The monument was sprayed with red paint on the eve of the Bulgarian Socialist Party’s celebration of its 123rd anniversary, the Sofia-based Novinite news agency reported.

The vandalism was the latest in a series of similar recent incidents in Bulgaria — each drawing angry criticism from Moscow…

Zero, Jonah and D are members of the New York Initiative, a group of ordinary people dedicated to extraordinary change through community activism, education and intervention. The NYI was one of several groups of “real-life superheroes” featured in the HBO documentary “Superheroes”, but they prefer to be labeled – if at all – as “Extreme Altruists”. Note: There was a little echo in this recording. Efforts have been made to remove it, but some still lingers.

Interesting takes on Grant Morrison’s own creations and the mainstream mythology he has worked in this interview in Playboy:

Grant Morrison is the leading writer of superhero comic books in this universe—and possibly some others. At DC Comics he rebooted Justice League of America into a best-seller. At Marvel he did the same for X-Men. When his magnum opus, The Invisibles—a series about voodoo, time travel and the Marquis de Sade—was in danger of being canceled, he mobilized his fans in an unusual way: He exhorted them to participate in a worldwide magic spell by masturbating on Thanksgiving Day. Yes, he held a “wankathon.” It worked—or at least sales of The Invisibles improved.

If Morrison’s personal history includes magic, wild experiments with consciousness-tweaking substances and reported alien visitations, why does he keep writing about square-jawed guys with capes? “We’re running out of visions of the future except dystopias,” Morrison says.

Reminds me of the Ellen Page/Rainn Wilson geek comedy Super. Kirk Johnson reports for the New York Times:

Salt Lake City: Red Voltage and two of his masked crime-fighting colleagues were approaching an intersection here in Utah’s capital on a recent evening, walking night patrol on foot, when a car suddenly slowed next to them. The night was bitterly cold, laced with a wispy stew of fog that might or might not conceal a thousand dangers. The car’s window rolled down.
“Hi, superheroes!” a woman shouted from within. “I’m in love with you guys!”
Eat your heart out, Batman. In a niche of urban life that has evolved in recent years somewhere between comic-book fantasy and the Boy Scout oath, a cadre of self-cast crusaders — some with capes, some without, all with something to prove — are on the march...

No, the above is not an exaggeration. I’m fine with nixing flying hovercars so long as we get this. Discovery writes:

The researchers report that they were able to create bright laser pulses that lasted a few nanoseconds with a single cell. Amazingly the cells were not damaged during the production of the laser light but were able to withstand hundreds of pulses.

The project took place at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine in Massachusetts. The key to this breakthrough involved the use of the widely studied protein known as green fluorescent protein. This protein, which was first discovered in jellyfish, has (as the name implies) the property of generating light.

Although there are no immediate plans to use this technology, the erosion of the barrier between optical technologies and biology could open many doors in therapy and research.

A 31-year-old man dressed as the comic book character was arrested Wednesday in Petoskey after he was seen hanging from the wall of a downtown business on East Mitchell Street. The Petoskey Department of Public Safety said officers pulled the man back onto the roof and found a baton type striking weapon, a can of chemical irritant spray, and a pair of lead lined gloves.

The suspect, a Harbor Springs resident, was arrested for trespassing and possession of dangerous weapons. He is being kept in the Emmet County Jail.

A dorky but effective way to fight crime? A Seattle-area man was being carjacked when a local "superhero" named Phoenix Jones intervened to chase off the criminal. Jones is a part of a crime-fighting unit called the Rain City Superheros and keeps his true identity hidden, transforming into his alter-ego each night in the back of a comic store.

COLUMBIA, TN (NBC) — In a town where they've engraved "justice" and "honor" on the public square, a new word, a new name is the talk of Columbia.
Bike shop owner A.C. Howell said, "The Viper, I believe. Isn't he the Masked Viper?"
Yes, the Viper. He's a man police found patrolling the public square with an arsenal of equipment, including plastic sticks and ninja throwing stars. His goal? Find crime and report it to police. Officers spotted him outside the wheel last week.
The bike shop's owner couldn't help but chuckle.
"I don't know. He needs something to do. Probably needs a job. I hope he's looking out for my benefit. I hope he's guarding my store," said Howell.